The situation with Omer Asik in Houston has deteriorated to the point where the big man that head coach Kevin McHale tried to pair alongside Dwight Howard in the starting lineup hasn’t been emotionally ready to suit up for the team’s last two games.

After essentially requesting to be traded since the deal to acquire Howard went down in July, Asik has continued those requests on a regular basis.

Now that it’s become clear that he won’t even function in his most basic role on the floor, the latest report has the team resigned to trading him just as soon as a reasonable deal materializes.

The center was scratched from Saturday’s home game against Denver essentially because he’s so unhappy with his new role that he’s in no state to play. Word is Asik has been asking the Rockets pretty much once a week, since Dwight Howard‘s arrival in July, to please trade him elsewhere. And now losing his starting spot, on top of what was already a reduced role, has clearly knocked the 27-year-old back.

Sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN.com that Asik was challenged by coaches and teammates this week for not being “engaged” in the wake of the lineup change, which took effect when Asik was moved to the bench for Wednesday’s game in Philadelphia. And he hasn’t played since the challenge, logging zero minutes Thursday night in New York while in uniform and not even dressing against the Nuggets.

As noted in the same report, it could be a while until a deal worth making becomes available, due to the fact that players who signed contracts in July aren’t eligible to be dealt until after December 15.

That’s a long time to wait, and while Asik can be a valuable defensive big man when engaged, this extended pouting won’t play well with GMs around the league, and given the situation becoming so public, it certainly won’t help the Rockets get close to equal value in a trade anytime soon.